Onew fiddled with his top hat as he took in the familiar landscape of the Gods Pavilion. He had no clue where to start looking for Death. There were many gods in the supernatural world and each had their own abode amongst the permanent residents of the city. The minor gods’ homes were readily recognisable; some had great neon signs to encourage visitors. The major gods were more reserved but no less pretentious. Fate’s white geometric mansion stood on top of a hill, away from the markets of the city. Time had a theme park as her home. But Death was someone who did not want people to be able to find him. He did not want visitors demanding the same things from him – answers to why he had died or to stop her from dying too soon. Or to revive someone who had just died. He would have none of it and so he hid away from even the other gods.

Onew, Minho, and Key stood at one of the many bus stops with long faces as the immensity of their task finally settled onto them. Jonghyun, on the other hand, merely stretched out his back from sitting on the bus for too long and took control. He told the others to follow him. He knew where to go.

“Uh, Jonghyun, this isn’t the place...” Onew hesitantly told him, looking up at the impossible rollercoaster rides and lines of the pointed roofs of the dodgem cars and haunted house. Jonghyun had led the others to Time’s theme park.

“I know that,” Jonghyun told him and continued towards the small alleyway next to the gate. The adjacent building appeared to be a pawn shop. They watched him tap along the brick wall a few times and then push against the wall. His forearm disappeared right through. Jonghyun gave a nod of satisfaction and waved over his dumbstruck companions. He pushed Key and Minho through the portal and was about to take Onew’s arm when the latter noticed the sound of ticking clocks.

Onew looked back towards Time’s home and saw the light in one of the ticket booths flash. He sighed and shook his head to Jonghyun. Jonghyun had also seen the signal and nodded his understanding. Therefore it was with a step back and wave that Onew gave the other member command of their group, for now.

Jonghyun came out of the other side of the portal. Key and Minho were standing in front of a simple two-storied colonial house. A picket fence surrounded a freshly-cut lawn and against the walls of the house was a rose garden. A small old man in a business suit was shuffling towards his red car parked in the driveway.

Jonghyun clapped the backs of the other two Messengers and moved towards the open gate next to the wooden letterbox. He shouted out a greeting and gave an enthusiastic wave. The old man turned at the sound with surprise clearly written across his lined face; and when he recognised the Messenger, his eyes lit up with delight. It was like a grandfather seeing his favourite grandchild.

Minho and Key followed from behind in awed silence. This was not how they had imagined Death to be. Their eyes popped out of their sockets when Jonghyun closed the remaining distance and tightly embraced the god. “Ah, Jonghyun, my pup! One of my three.” Death laughed with delight and rubbed the back of Jonghyun’s head. “What are you doing here?” he asked him and draped a companionable arm across his shoulders.

“I’m here with friends D,” Jonghyun replied and motioned to the others. Death gave Minho a cool look, and an even longer and calculated stare at Key. He then sighed and turned back towards his house, taking Jonghyun along with him under his arm. The others followed when Jonghyun waved them along.

They settled themselves in the kitchen, their hats and coats left at the doorway. Key carefully placed his photo album on top of the table and waited with good manners as the god brewed tea. Death sat in one of the chairs once everyone had been served, his eyes falling upon the leather object. “That belongs to Time,” he said and Key nodded confirmation to his statement.

“I know why you are here,” he continued, “And I cannot help you.”

“D!” Jonghyun protested in his seat next to Key. “There has to be something that you could do for us. You must know something!”

Death took another sip of his tea and delayed answering. “This is not my problem. Fate has gotten her pert in an imaginary fix and she can do whatever she pleases.”

Jonghyun made displeased noises in the back of his throat, causing Death to click his tongue at him for rude manners. But Jonghyun ignored him and looked about the familiar kitchen. He had visited often enough – he was one of the supposedly non-existent favourite of the god of Death. And so he knew how to get this grandpa to respond. He pouted.

And Death snorted at the back of his throat.

Minho and Key looked on as if they were statues. No-one they knew was quite as chummy with the gods to such an extent; not even Taemin with Fate. They were constantly afraid that Jonghyun would trip over the line and anger the god of Death, and then they would cease to exist. They knew that Death was only tolerating their presence for Jonghyun’s sake.

Death snorted at the back of his throat and roared with laughter. He leant across the table and poked a wrinkled finger into Jonghyun’s cheek before swatting him across the head. “You cheeky young pup,” he muttered under his breath. He took another sip of his tea and then told them that there was a way to get the results they wanted.

If the 1000^th Whisper to be folded into a crane belonged to a supernatural being, like a Messenger; then the magic can grant them three wishes, including the wish to forgo their debt to the god.

Onew walked into the amusement park with no problems. He was one of Time’s favourites and had an unlimited access pass to her fun-filled rides that she called home. He was guided by the flickering lights that lined the side-show tents and rides’ entry booths. He made his way to the puppet theatre stage, where Time’s theme song was the loudest, and found her rocking backwards and forwards on the floor. She was muttering to herself and alternated between laughing and growling at nothing.

“Time?” Onew cautiously addressed her and she looked towards his general direction.

“Do you know how hard it has been?” she muttered more to herself than to him. “Fate is such a . Big sister demands so, so much from me for to fix her mistake. Why wasn’t I allowed to grant the mortal’s wish? He had made it to one thousand.” Her unfocused eyes swivelled in the spaces about Onew, who stood there with deep concern for his goddess.

“I have to pull apart my hard work, to bring the mortal backwards along his timeline to the start of sister’s anomaly. But he has 1000 years of debt to me that needs to be paid!” Time began to pull at her pigtails and rolled about on the floor. “I am too good at my work!” she screamed. “If I go backwards, the damn string pulls me forward even more. His 1000 year debt to me is becoming fulfilled and he is not doing anything for me! YOU ARE CHEATING ME OF WHAT IS DUE TO ME, SISTER!”

“Time,” Onew repeated and she finally fixed her crazed eyes onto him.

“I had to move the time strings on you too because you are always with Key. You are an old, old, old man, Onew!” And she cackled with laughter and pointed at his walking stick.

“Fate asks from me too many things,” she whispered to him as she stared up at the ceiling. “She wants me to push Key’s son’s timeline forward so that he can fail all the more quicker. And I have to pull Key back to his start. It is too much work for a little girl like me.”

Time then frowned and sat back up. She shot a look at Onew’s coat where he kept his pocket watch. “Why has that stopped? Why are you not working, Messenger?” she questioned him.

Onew only shook his head with confusion. “I don’t know,” he answered her.

Time stayed silent as she thought out the possibilities. She then dismissed Onew out of her sight with the wave of her hand and she cursed at Fate’s name, screaming her head like a child denied some candy.